Supermarket given green light after four years
LDRSA new Lidl supermarket has been given the green light after a planning process which has lasted four years.
The council decision on the Middlesbrough store, where the now demolished Northern School of Art used to be, was deferred in April to allow further consideration for the closure of Thackeray Grove.
Residents objected to the closure of the road as they were fearful of smaller roads becoming more congested and the accompanying safety concerns.
The development was approved by six votes to four, despite both ward councillors objecting to the proposal.
Middlesbrough Labour councillor Philippa Storey said a supermarket is "desperately" needed in the Linthorpe area but argued the site is not appropriate, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Objector Bobbie Jameson was accepting of a store, but advocated keeping Thackeray Grove open to traffic, arguing for "four-arm traffic lights".
Meanwhile, Michael James said he previously lived near a Lidl, before moving to Linthorpe, describing his previous experience as "hell on Earth".
Lidl's planning agent Scott Royal said the existing junction is considered to be "unsafe", advocating the three-arm signalised junction (including the closure of Thackeray) as "safer" and "more efficient" for all road users.
Royal added that Lidl's proposals align with TVCA's "active travel" plans and the local council's emerging local plan's "aim to reduce car dependency".
Another objecting resident, Jackie Elder, told councillors: "You cannot put this shop there, it is not a shopping precinct, there are shopping precincts all around us, within literally five minutes of walking."
The former councillor was later told to leave the meeting for interrupting proceedings.
Simon Thompson, from Middlesbrough Council's highways department, said modelling showed closing Thackeray Grove was still the best option to avoid queues.
The closure will see a "three-arm" signalised junction, with traffic moving both east and west along Green Lane/Emerson Avenue and in and out of Roman Road.
